Sister Anagawa had tried to end her life.
Akutagawa ran outside, and was told that she had come home the previous night for the first time in a long while, and that this morning, when he looked into her room, he found a note on her pillow. Akutagawa thanked him for telling him and asked, "She's in the main hospital, right?" They told him yes, she was on the fifth floor.
Fortunately the operation saved her life. But during the procedure they discovered something. They found traces of systematic violence on Anagawa's body.
Akutagawa was frozen with horror and realized what that meant, and then suddenly he heard his uncle's screams and asked what was going on. He realized something had happened to his aunt and uncle, and looked off into the distance. He rushed abruptly to the fifth floor.
At that moment the military burst in, seizing them and informing them of information management by the government. They had heard the rumours but never imagined it would happen to them. Were they really going to destroy them simply to protect the foolish reputation of high-ranking users?
The man took hold of his head and told him not to despair or say anything rash — that he should remain silent, and then he wouldn't take their lives. He had built his business using the government subsidies for his A-rank daughter as capital. And thanks to that he now had social status, and erasing it would be problematic. So he took hold of his head and said that, as he saw it, that allowed them to draw out and erase his memories. But memories are tricky things. You never know what might trigger a sudden avalanche-like return. Moreover, after collecting all his memories related to his daughter, they would house each of them in separate institutions.
The father asked, "Is this all for the protection of high-ranking individuals?"
They would be able to award bonuses to their company directly, from the convenience of their new home. They would also provide generous government protection, and of course under the name of management.
The woman screamed that it was enough. She would rather die than agree to this. Her husband was dumbfounded and didn't know what to do. But the man said he had already told them that killing them would be very difficult.
At that moment Akutagawa entered their room. Realizing that his skill couldn't erase sound, he could still use a storm to conceal his presence completely. He used the direction of the wind to channel the sound, blowing through the blinds and making them rattle and the glass tremble. He would blend in with it all and kill him with one blow.
At that moment his uncle shouted, "Stop! Don't do anything rash!" — and he suddenly froze and abruptly hid behind a column. His uncle declared that he was acting to protect the high-ranking officials, and that even if they escaped now, society would track them down. They would have to endure until it was all over.
And the man in uniform said he was terribly calm, and it was boring. In fact he was right. Arguing against it would be pointless. And besides, he had already erased all the memories of Anagawa, who was lying next to them in the hospital bed.
When Akutagawa heard this he was as dumbfounded as her father, who asked, "What?"
The man removed his helmet and declared that if the two of them forgot each other, no one would suffer. Wasn't that a kind gesture? She should have kept quiet and endured. But she'd done something that almost ruined her reputation. And on top of that, relinquishing her rank weakened their fighting strength. This woman was now considered not a dream but social trash. And when people produce trash at home, the administration collects it and disposes of it. That's social order, right? If a dirty body starts to stink, it disturbs the neighbours.
Her father screamed that he was a freak and a piece of garbage. But at that moment the man used his magical powers and declared that tomorrow he would forget his anger like an idiot. Watching this was the most fun part of his job. If he wanted someone to blame, he could blame his daughter, and the fact that he was born into the middle class.
Akutagawa was horrified when he saw everything that was happening, and went outside into the rain. He leaned against a pillar, unsure what to do. He clutched his head and wondered why this had happened, and what had driven Anagawa to her death. His uncle had said there were signs of systematic violence on her body. If that was true, then someone in her inner circle was to blame. She had supposedly damaged her rank's reputation, and that was all he would say.
At that moment he heard, through a large screen on the street, that nobility obliges them to use their acquired powers for the sake of the people. Isamu was on the screen, and Akutagawa wondered whether there was a connection. Tsukasa had also mentioned that these were the rank-level skill users the guild was so proud of, and that they protected them all their lives.
Akutagawa had no proof, but he pondered it while the students around him murmured that they were wonderful, that he was strong, high-level, a true hero. With people like him, the country was safe. Thinking about this, he wanted to strive even harder for society. If all the high rankers were this good, it would be wonderful.
Akutagawa understood that people worshipped those of rank whose status was protected by such inhumane methods. After all, it was real, and he knew what a terrible sight it was.
Only yesterday they had eaten together at this table, and this month felt like one big lie. He remembered Anagawa smiling at the table, and then he suddenly saw the box. Inside was Anagawa's mask, and he realized what kind of note it was from her.
She wrote to him: Dear Akutagawa. By the time you get this letter — it sounded straight out of a manga. She apologized that their farewell would be like this. But please, let him never try to find out why. It was very dangerous.
He was surprised. So that was how it was. The one who had driven older sister Anagawa to the brink was that man.
She still somehow remembered the day she met him. He said she saved him, but he saved her. Right? Back then she was almost crushed by the pressure that ranks are destined to carry from birth, and her father suggested a change of scenery and brought them to the city where he lived. But he remembers that they played in the theatre together, right? He was the hero and she was the heroine. Akutagawa remembered all this, because it was his salvation.
In fact she had started wearing a mask in order to look like him. So she would be glad if he kept it. Every day with him, anyone who interacted with her not because of skills or rank was happy. He was her hero.
She knew he might be angry with her, but please, let him not hate this world. A hero protects the world, right? There are many important things in the world around him now. So let him focus on these people, and not on the ugliness of the world.
Akutagawa gripped the paper and said he was sorry, but he couldn't. What exactly did they want? How could he forget everything?
If being a hero meant protecting this society, then he didn't want to be one. He preferred to be a clown who ruined everything and ruined the show.